THE NIGHT OF:

The men force them to their knees, guns cocked. The only sounds are their heavy breathing and the distant moans of the incoming walkers. The leader of the group steps forward, leaning down until he is nose to nose with Jenner.

Carl huddles closer to her side, his face buried in her shoulder. Natasha watches them warily, her fingers twitching to grab the blade strapped to her leg. The man looks back in the direction of the farm, where smoke is still billowing high in the night sky, clouding the air and stars. This close, Natasha can make out his face in the dull moonlight and the beams of light coming from their flashlights. The man is round in the face, well fed, and clean. The only dirt on him is what his boots picked up trekking through the wounds.

He grabs Jenner by the hair, tugging forcefully until he looks up at him. "You guys cause all that?"

Jenner blinks sluggishly while trying to meet Natasha's own eyes, the blood from the gash along his eyebrow drips down his left cheek. He must've caught a branch to his face. Natasha juts her chin up ever so slightly so not to draw more attention. Jenner swallows and nods, wincing when he pulls his hair against the hand holding it.

"We were swarmed by those things. The fire got out of control."

The man glances from Jenner to Natasha, leering down at her only barely glancing at Carl. "This your family?"

Jenner pauses, his breathing heavy. "Yes, my wife and my son."

The man lets go of Jenner's hair, making him fall back into the dirt. The man walks closer to Natasha, smiling falsely kind as he squats down and fingers at her hair. Natasha lets her features morph into the fear this man obviously wants to see, she makes sure to whimper when his fingers graze her cheek. He looks down at Carl waving his flashing light down over them and into their eyes.

"He doesn't look much like you, pops," he whistles mockingly. "Your little wife run around on you?"

Jenner groans as he pushes himself back up to his knees. "Step-son, I've raised him since he was a baby."

The man smiles again, looking back down at Natasha. "Good, good. Family is all we have left in this world now. Good that you've kept yours."

The man stands upright, takes one last look behind them and towards the far-off burning farm before whistling at his men.

"Well, boys, we better run. Not worth doing this shit tonight." He puts away his gun and points for his men to take hold of them.

One of the three men gathers their hands, wrapping corse rope around their wrist and ties them individually into well-practiced knots. The thick threads of the rope already begin to chafe and pull at her skin. This close Natasha can make out the man's dark hair and the deep scar that runs horizontally across his nose. His hands linger as he checks for weapons, purposely caressing and grabbing her waist and legs. Natasha shoulders him hard in the chin when he leans down for her knife.

The man flings back, shoving Natasha onto her behind and nearly onto her back.

"Hey, don't hurt her!" Carl lunges at the man.

The man puts Carl in a headlock, tightening his arm threateningly around the boy's neck until he stops struggling and finally stops kicking out to get away. Carl struggles to catch his breath, gasping heavy and uneven as he looks at Natasha for help, his bravado gone.

"Let him go!" Jenner barks out. His voice is different and harsh. Natasha is surprised by the intense look of anger on his face. It rolls over him like a wave and recedes just as quick when he realizes himself.

The group leader comes back, stepping close behind the man who still has Carl in grip, and pats at his shoulders.

"Now, now, Stevie. Let the boy go, you know how kids are. He just wants to protect his mama."

Carl is dropped to the ground, he gasps for air but crawls over to Natasha and helps her back up. Natasha wants to reach out and check him over, but she can only hold his chin in tips of her fingers. She checks his face and eyes; his cheeks are still flushed but he is fine for now.

She whispers to him so only he can hear her in her native tongue. "We will be fine."

The leader crouches down beside and smiles warmly. "Now, I'm sorry about that but Stevie here is a stickler for rules and manners. You're going want to keep on his good side. Now get up nice and slow. We're gonna take y'all to a safe place."

Jenner is tugged to his feet by the leader, who pats him on the back and brushes the dirt off his shoulders as if they were lifelong friends. Jenner Stares questioningly as the man, peaking over at Natasha and then back to the man as if he wants her to tell him what to do.

"Who are you?" The question comes out louder and harder than Jenner attends but the man doesn't flinch.

The man smiles from ear to ear and claps Jenner once more on the shoulder. "Glad you asked. Call me Marcus."

They are lead through the woods and until eventually, they come across a back road made only from dirt and wear from repeated travel through it. Marcus helps them all into the back of a dark SUV, he smiles kindly still in the dim yellow light of the car interiors bulbs and pats Carl on the knee before closing the door.

He leans against the door and hovers his through the open window. "Now, don't worry. You'll be safe where we're going."

The car ride is long and rough. The road, despite being well traveled, is rough with debris and misshapen land. Natasha counts the miles. The men had come in two cars. There are five of them in total, three from the woods, the leader, and the one they had met at the cars. The two in the front seats don't say a word. Marcus is in the car in front of them leading the way. Carl falls asleep against her as the long drive continues. The exhaustion from everything that had happened finally had set in and he slumps over heavy with sleep. Jenner looks warily from the men to her. She can barely make out his face in the darkness of the car, but she knows he is afraid. She can feel it in the air.

Every nerve in her body is burning.

They drive until the morning sun rises and the dim light rays of first light begin to peak through the clouds. Carl stirs against her as the light runs over his face and they pull into the back of large, long building. Carl sits up and blinks dazedly, leaning forward as best he can and tries to look out at what's in front of them.

"Are we at a school?"

The driver pulls to a stop close to what must be a back door and laughs. "Welcome to Hillside Jr. High. Or as Marcus likes to call it: home."

They're guided through the darkened school hallways. Natasha can make out the vague white noise of people talking somewhere in the rooms they pass by and the humming of what must be a generator judging by the dim backup lights that give shape to their surroundings.

People peak at them from open doorways that led to what once was classrooms. Children stare openly until their mothers pull them away and hush their questions. The cool air feels like a relief from the heat of the car ride but now Natasha can feel the grime and dirt drying on her skin. She is more uncomfortable then she would like to admit.

The men in front of them stop walking. Marcus turns the corner and smiles warmly at them.

"Hey, guys!" He pulls out a blade and cuts the rope from Carl's and her wrists. "Sorry about all this, but you never know who you're dealing with in this world."

Carl rubs his rest and backs closer to Natasha until his back is pressed against her stomach. Natasha wraps her arms around him like she has seen Lori do so many times before. Marcus looks back at Jenner.

"Now, I would cut yours too, but I'd like to have a chat first." He looks back to his companion from the woods, the deep scar looks even more jagged in actual light. "Stevie, why don't you take these two the auditorium to get some rest while they wait for Pops here."

Natasha looks over her should wearily at Jenner. She doesn't like this, but she has little choice to play along with the role expected of her until she understands what this place is and who these people are.

A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry, this update took so long. I've been caught up in my studies but hopefully now since its summer break is out I will be able to devote more time to my stories. This is the next arc of this story so expect a few chapters dedicated and centered around this for a bit. I'm excited to flesh out these characters but also to dive into the mystery of why Natasha is in this world as well!

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from all and hear what you think!